Saeed Abedini

Saeed Abedini (7 May 1980-) was an Iranian-American Protestant pastor who was imprisoned by Iran from the summer of June 2012 to 16 January 2016 for holding private religious gatherings in Christian homes. He was released with Jason Rezaian and two other American prisoners on 16 January 2016 in a prisoner exchange.

Biography
Saeed Abedini was born on 7 May 1980 in Iran to a family of Shi'ite Muslim Iranians, but he later immigrated to the United States state of Idaho, where he converted to Protestantism. He became a pastor and attempted to worship with other Christians in Iran in a summer 2012 visit, but Iran persecuted apostates and disallowed them from practicing their new religions with members of that belief. Abedini was arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and his passport confiscated, and Abedini was held in a prison for almost four years due to his beliefs in Christianity. On 16 January 2016 he was returned to the USA along with journalist Jason Rezaian and two other American captives as the United Nations planned to lift sanctions on Iran as a part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.